Dalkaisk (Language)
Dalkaisk is the majority language spoken in Dalkai, and the Lingua Franca of Tauran communities abroad. The language is the official language of Dalkai, as well as being spoken by a significant minority in Alphia, as well as in Dalkaisk pockets in Novenae. The Tauran sector in Atlas Valley contains a large amount of Dalkaisk speakers, and is the largest enclave of Dalkaisk language speakers outside of Tauran nations. History Srojkja Dalkaisk was historically written in the Srojkja script, a consonant based alphabet where vowels were written above or below the consonants. Its connective appearance meant each letter possessed an initial, middle, and end version. Srojkja was eventually phased out in favor of the Cyrillic Script used by the Gerbian Language. Srojkja is still used in early Dalkaisk aesthetic and art. Cyrillic In 2501, Dalkai, while under the control of SMG, underwent the 2501 Dalkaisk Language Cyrillization, also called Syrilinitsije, outlawing the old Strojkja system. The Cyrillic script is still commonly used in settings representing Revolutionary and Early-Dalkaisk Periods, as well as those, typically older Dalkaisk educated before the switch to the Latin Alphabet. Tuviet (Tuvyetsk) speakers continue to use the previous Cyrillic script, even as Dalkaisk ceased usages of the alphabet. Along with older Dalkaisk speakers, Cyrillic users have been collectively called Syriliens (Syriliesk) Latin During the Anti-SMG political turmoils prior to the Red War, Latinization of Dalkaisk increased in popularity and usage. Unlike Syrilinitsije, Dalkaisk Language Latinization, or Latjinitsije was a gradual process. During this time, Cyrillic was seen as the remnant of an oppressive regime, as well as many other Gerbian cultural symbols. in 2888, the Latjinitsije Decitsije ''(Latinization Act) set the Latin Alphabet as the official writing system of Dalkaisk. This script is still used to this day, although languages such as Avenian continue to use the Cyrillic script. Grammar Dalkaisk is an SVO language, similar to English, and occasionally allows OSV word order. Definite articles (e.g. the, a, etc.) are absent from the language, and are not used. Verbs inflections include morphemes added at the ends of words, and individual words added before the verb. Noun Inflections The main noun inflections decline based on number and prepositional phrasing (i.e to-, at-, from-). The noun inflections are as follows: '''Number Affixes:' * -''(a)n'', Plural marker, (a is optional dependent on if the noun ends in a consonant or a vowel.) Preprepositional Affixes: * av'''-'', to (the/a) # * ''lo-'', by (the/a) #, (when attached onto a noun starting in a vowel, a /β/ "v" sound is usually included when spoken, loajtse, ''"by the end" sounds more like ''lovajtse) * '''on-, in (the/a) # * 'je'-, at (the/a) # * 'in'-, from (the/a) # * 'por'-, with (the/a) # * 'jaj'-, on (the/a) # * 'las'-, about (the/a) # * 'evo'-, among (the/a) #, (see 'lo'#'') * -'tsi', of (the/a) #, attached after a noun as a stylistic choice or a redundancy reducer, (from tsi # tsi #, to tsi # #tsi) Order of noun suffixes go: Prep. + Root + Plu. + Prep.(Suffix) Verb Inflections * ''-'re', Past Tense * ''-'(s)ejn', ''Future Tense * ''-'''te', Continuous Tense, (reduced to -'''t' after the past tense marker) * ''-'(l)ajm', Interrogative ''(''Question) Tense * 'holje' #'', Perfect Tense (i.e had #, have #, etc.) * ''-'jen, Habitual Tense, (Informal, dialectal) Order of verb suffixes go: '''Past/Fut. + Cont./Hab. + Int. Other Modifications * ''-'isej' / -'isam, Adverb modifier for Adjectives * ''-'''ij / -'esk, Common suffixes for Adjectives Vocabulary Common Vocabulary Below is a list of some commonly used vocabulary in the Dalkaisk Language: Examples Example 1 '''Dalkaisk: Renaj sere avbajnizha an oraj onpruste. IPA: /ɾeˈnaʲ ˈseɾ(ə) ɑβˈbaʲniˌʒa an̪ ˈoɾaʲ ˌonˈpɾustə/ Literal: They-''(3rd person pl.)'' go-''(past)'' (to)-bank one hour (in)-past English: They went to the bank one hour ago. Example 2 Dalkaisk: Tej attsinjesejnte jo lajm? IPA: /teʲ atˈt͡sinʲeˌseʲntə jo laʲm/ Literal: You-''(2nd person sing.)'' open-''(fut.)-(cont.)'' it (ques. particle)? English: Will you be opening it? / You will be opening it, right? Example 3 Dalkaisk: Nartaj tsi Aphjil jen felotsen ij felotsen itapjatsi IPA: /naɾˈtaʲ t͡s(ɪ) apˈhʲil jen̪ feˈlot͡sen iɨ feˈlot͡sen ˌitaˈpʲat͡s(ɪ)/ Literal: North of Aphil be-''(3rd-person-pl.)'' forest-''(pl.)'' and forest-''(pl.)'' spruce-''(of). '''English': North of Aphil are forests and forests of spruce. Dialects The Standardized Dialect, also known as Mainstream Dalkaisk, is based off the Nankai dialect of Reicala. Regional Dialects vary widely, with some dialects occasionally being written down. In the Mainstream/Nankai Dialect, the following sentence would be written and spoken as such: Pjo reglen kjem tej suseretjo sut ren desoj atkefre. /pʲo ɾegˈlen̪ kʲem teʲ suˈse.ɾe.tʲə su(t) ɾen̪ deˈsoʲ ˈat.ke.fre/ English: Don't say that you did it if it creates trouble. However, in the Dauija Dialect of Southeastern Reicala, the same sentence would feature more contractions and vowel dropping: Pj'reglen kjem t'suseretj s'ren des'atkefre. /pʲ.ɾegˈɫn kʲem t͡sʊˈseˌɾetʲ sɾen deˈsaʔ.ke.fɾə/ In the Avenije Dialect, due to it's 3 vowel phonological tendencies originating from the Avenian language, (/a/, /i/, /u/) the sentence would be: Pia raglin kam tai susaritiu sut ran dasui atkipru. /piˈa ragˈlin kam ˈta.i suˈsa.ri.ti.u sut ran daˈsu.i ˈat.ki.pru/